ALEC's Legislative Agenda on Education

On American Legislative Exchange Council task forces, corporate lobbyists and special interests vote as equals with elected representatives on templates to change our laws, behind closed doors with no press or public allowed to see the votes or deliberations. ALEC's education legislation diverts taxpayers' money from American public school children to for-profit education corporations, strips away the rights of teachers and their ability to negotiate strongly for small class sizes and other practices that help children learn better, and gives more tax breaks to rich corporations and individuals to pay private school tuition, among other things that undermine America's proud tradition of investing in our future through investing in excellent public education for all of America's children. ALEC's education task force has long been chaired by a private school corporation.

Funding Private Schools and Private Profits with the Public's Money

ALEC's "Family Education Tax Credit Program" creates a tax credit for paying private primary or secondary school tuition and fees. It would also create a tax credit for corporations and individuals that give money to be used as "scholarships" to pay tuition and fees at private schools. This also reduces tax revenue for public services.

ALEC's "Parent Choice Scholarship Program Act - Universal Eligibility" creates a voucher program to use taxpayer funds that would be spent on public schools to subsidize private for-profit, religious, or other primary and secondary schools. This program has no income limit for subsid and therefore all students would be eligible.

ALEC's "Education Accountability Act" allows a state to override the elected school board, declare schools "educationally bankrupt," and divert funds to private schools.

Tipping the Scales in Favor of Charter Schools Over Public School Innovations

ALEC's "Charter Schools Act" would allow the state to grant charters to create and operate schools outside of traditional public schools, while also exempting these charter schools from state laws that apply to public schools.

ALEC's "Next Generation Charter Schools Act" allows state taxpayers to subsidize charter schools that compete with public schools, while exempting charter schools from complying with many legal standards and requirements that govern public schools.

Advancing Other Controversial Proposals

ALEC's "Virtual Public Schools Act" requires virtual or online education company courses to be recognized as public schools and require that such companies receive the same per pupil funding as traditional schools that provide classrooms, sports training facilities, lunch, and transportation, resulting in windfall profits for online "schools."

ALEC's "Parent Trigger Act" would allow a small group of parents to close public school for current and future students, and turn the school into a charter school or require the state to use taxpayer dollars for vouchers to subsidize private tuition.

ALEC's "Resolution Supporting the Principles of No Child Left Behind" supports the Bush Administration's controversial effort of using expanded testing of limited subjects as a way to claim public schools are failing and also to effectively limit the teaching of important life skills and other educationally enriching topics not subject to testing.

ALEC's "Common Sense in Medicating Students Act" prohibits any school personnel from even recommending medication for any troubled child to parents, even if the school has experts on staff experienced in making such non-binding recommendations.

Attacking Teachers and Undermining the Power to Negotiate to Help Students

ALEC's "Great Teachers and Leaders Act" changes tenure rules for teachers and allows tenure to be revoked based on limited measures of success without regard to underlying conditions in the schools or environment.

ALEC's "Alternative Certification Act" attempts to allow students to be taught by people who have no training in how to teach children and the different ways kids learn at various ages and based on different learning styles. This paves the way for for-profit schools to pay "teachers" less than educators who are actually trained in teaching.